Video Ethogram of Equine Social Behaviour.
Authors: Torres Borda Laura, Kelemen Zsofia, Auer Ulrike, Jenner Florien
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Video Ethogram of Equine Social Behaviour Standardised behavioural definitions have long been a stumbling block in equine research, with inconsistent terminology making it difficult to compare findings across studies or draw reliable conclusions about how management and health affect social interactions. Torres Borda and colleagues addressed this gap by developing a comprehensive ethogram comprising thirty-seven distinct social behaviours, each accompanied by video examples and contextual descriptors—such as distinguishing playful from aggressive circling using ear position and facial expression—to eliminate ambiguity in interpretation. The inclusion of video footage alongside definitions captures the temporal dynamics of social interactions, revealing sequence, duration and rhythm in ways that static descriptions cannot, providing researchers with the nuanced observational data needed to understand equine social complexity. This standardised framework enables meaningful cross-study comparisons and offers practitioners—particularly those managing group housing, rehabilitation programmes or assessing welfare—a reliable foundation for evaluating how different husbandry conditions, health challenges or behavioural interventions influence herd dynamics. For farriers, vets and other equine professionals, having access to clearly defined, visually illustrated behavioural benchmarks strengthens the evidence base for management decisions and creates a common language when collaborating with researchers or discussing an individual horse's social adjustment and wellbeing.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Use this standardised ethogram as a reference guide when observing and documenting equine social interactions to ensure consistency and comparability with other studies and facilities
- •Pay close attention to subtle contextual cues like ear position and facial expressions when interpreting horse behaviour—the same action (e.g., circling) can indicate play or aggression depending on these signals
- •Document video recordings of social interactions alongside written observations to capture the full temporal context and sequence of behaviours, improving your ability to assess welfare and detect early signs of conflict or health issues
Key Findings
- •Thirty-seven distinct equine social behaviours were defined with standardised, unequivocal definitions to address gaps in existing ethograms
- •Video examples were integrated with behavioural definitions to capture dynamic temporal aspects including sequence, duration, and rhythm of social interactions
- •Contextual cues such as ear position and facial expressions enable differentiation between aggressive and playful behaviours (e.g., circling)
- •Standardised video-illustrated definitions facilitate cross-study comparisons regarding impacts of husbandry practices and health conditions on equine social behaviour